This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mass Amherst chapter.
“A few weeks ago, one day, at almost 3 in the morning, I was extremely stressed out. I was halfway through my second paper of the night and I had an exam the next day that I hadn’t started studying for yet,” says senior psychology major Sarah De Sa Nogueira. “I got so overwhelmed and began to cry because I knew that I had to go to class in a few hours. Doing well has become far more important than sleep these days.”
Senior year of college – the year we’ve all been waiting for. The year when students take the bare minimum in credits, are old enough to party in the center of town, and finally get their hands on that long-awaited degree. Essentially, it’s the best year of a college student’s life. Right? Well that’s what we’ve been told.
With the constant balance of classes, part-time jobs, extra-curricular activities and more, senior year of college can actually turn out to be the most stress-inducing year of a student’s entire college career. In 2008, MTVU and the Associated Press conducted a survey to measure college student stress throughout the United States. The results found that at least four out of ten students reported that they feel stressed often. The same survey found that academic stressors like workload and grades at 77 and 74 percent respectively, are the leaders of student stress. Financial miseries follow right behind, as 67 percent of students stated that money issues also account for a large portion of their stress.
Though current seniors are not graduating into the recession like those polled in the study, some of the same worries and stressors still remain true. Christian Smith, Licensed Independent Social Worker at the University of Massachusetts Center for Counseling and Psychological Health states, “Anytime human beings are going through big life transitions, there is the potential that they will be overwhelmed by some component of that transition.”
“You see it with the students coming into college, so you see it in the same way as people begin to exit,” Smith continues. “They’re thinking about the next steps or stages in life and for some people that can be extremely stressful.” Stress is not linked to one particular source. There are many factors that can create stressful situations like the combination of academics, social activities and post-graduate life including full-time jobs, graduate school and loans.
An article on HelpGuide.org, a non-profit guide to mental health and well-being, breaks down some common signs and symptoms of people experiencing chronic stress. Symptoms such as anxiety, moodiness, nausea and procrastination fit into the cognitive, emotional, physical and behavioral categories, respectively.
While all students experience different symptoms from different categories, some UMass Amherst seniors attribute emotional, cognitive and behavioral symptoms as their current signifiers of stress: “My emotions are all over the place – I think I’ve cried more this year than I have throughout my entire college career,” says De Sa Nogueira. “I have been more stressed out this year than ever before. On top of school and work, there’s also the constant pressure of figuring out what I’m doing after graduation.”
While senior marketing and communication major, Lina Gutierrez, shows that cognitive symptoms are at the forefront of her situation. “I’m definitely worried about the job search – I don’t want to go back at home after graduation,” she states. “I don’t want to be jobless or not working in the industry that I went to school for.”
Lastly, senior journalism and BDIC (Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration) in Storytelling through Artistic Expression major, Brilee Weaver sees behavioral changes within herself. “I think I’ve noticed a big change in my personality this semester, I don’t know if that’s because I’ve mentally told myself that this is almost over or not,” explained Weaver. “I used to be very diligent with everything I do, whether that be my job, school work or making times for friends and family. My priorities have shifted a little bit – I think I am folding under the pressure of stress, which is creating a lack of motivation.”
The senior year experience is an amalgamation of feelings, which means stress levels can be very inconsistent. There can be happy days, when assignments and stress are at a minimum, and there can be weeks when big assignments are due, important meetings are being held and finding the balance becomes difficult – this of course, will increase stress levels.
Christian Smith reminds students that they are not alone in this transitional period. “You can just know from observation – you’re not the only one going through this,” he states. “Your peers are going through it too. There are similarities.” With this thought in mind, students are encouraged to find ways to work on stress management. As graduation approaches, college seniors continue to find the balance in all that they do, and a major component in pushing through and conquering stress successfully is finding the time to manage it.
The American Institute of Stress states that there isn’t one specific way to deal with stress but there are several ways to prevent it. Though stress is unavoidable, students may find different ways to cope.“Trying to incorporate things that I enjoy more often has made the stress a lot easier to deal with – writing is my favorite way to cope with stress,” said De Sa Nogueira. “I also try not to compare myself to others. Some people might already know what they’re doing right after graduation, but everyone has their own timeline.”